Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City: 5 Talking Points as Foxes hold onto a draw at Old Trafford | EPL 2021-22
In what was a game of two halves, Leicester City held their own to secure a draw against Manchester United at a rather sleepy Old Trafford. The first half saw the two teams go at each other but without any pace or precision. The second half was more end-to-end, as both sides searched for a winner.
Manchester United seemed blunt throughout the game. They evidently missed the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo upfront, who apparently caught a flu-like disease while Edinson Cavani is still recovering from a muscle injury.
Ralf Ragnick, surprisingly, still decided to play with Paul Pogba as a false striker, while his usual wingers soldiered on the flanks. However, it would be safe to say that United should be happy with the point, taking into consideration their performance against a struggling Leicester City side.
The first goal of the game came in the 63rd minute as James Maddison played an immaculate cross into the box with his weaker foot for Kelechi Iheanacho to get on the end of. The Nigerian guided it past David de Gea with a neat header to make it 1-0 for the visitors, who were the better team on the night.
⏹ United have to settle for a point.
#MUFC | #MUNLEI
Unfortunately for the men in blue, the lead only lasted for three minutes. Fred scored the equalizer after a tame attempt by Bruno Fernandes on goal was pushed into the Brazilian's path by Kasper Schmeichel.
A controversial winning goal by the Foxes was eventually nullified by VAR in what seemed to be the right decision. Iheanacho's foul in the box on Raphael Varane was spotted by the VAR. Maddison's goal was disallowed, much to his disappointment after a heartfelt celebration with the away fans.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 A 10/10 performance from James Maddison!
When James Maddison gets into his groove, there aren't many teams that have the quality to control him. The Englishman has been underrated for quite a while by fans and his own national team. But Maddison continues to work his way up the ladder and lead his side back into the top end of the league table.
It has been a below-average season for Leicester City, heavily influenced by injuries. Maddison, though, has been a constant threat and consistent performer for the Foxes.
The 25-year-old has bagged eight goals and four assists in the league this campaign and will aim to make it into the World Cup squad for Qatar. Whether he makes it or not depends upon the role he will play in helping Leicester City achieve their objectives for the season.
#4 Man United lack cohesion in midfield
Leicester City do not necessarily possess the most technical players in the league. But they picked apart Manchester United's midfield like it was an EFL team they were playing against. On top of that, Leicester were without their midfield general Wilfried Ndidi.
Scott McTominay and Fred are simply not on the same wavelength to play regularly in the middle of the park for a trophies-aspiring team. The gaps left by the duo in the midfield are massive for any decent team to exploit and Leicester did exactly that.
Despite all his qualities going forward, Bruno Fernandes is never in position, defensively. The Portuguese does put in a shift when it comes to chasing down his men. His risky playing style and offensive free role means the midfield pivot has plenty of covering up to do. None of the Manchester United's personnel in midfield are currently good enough for the job.
#3 Leicester City picking up pace at the right time
Brendan Rodgers' men have had a terrible season, to say the least. Right from injury problems to tactics, everything has gone against the Foxes. But as we enter the business end of the season, the FA Cup champions are seemingly gathering courage.
Leicester wandered into the bottom half of the table for the majority of the season. Now they sit ninth in the table, comfortably above Aston Villa. The return of Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans is a major boost for the team as a whole.
The Foxes have won five out of their last eight games in all competitions, losing to Arsenal and Rennes while bagging a huge point against Manchester United yesterday. Winning the Europa Conference League will not be a distant dream for Leicester, after all.
#2 "No Ronaldo, no party"
Manchester United's abysmal form this season has led fans and pundits worldwide to question Cristiano Ronaldo's commitment and quality. The Portuguese has been under scrutiny for no valid reason as fans look for a scapegoat yet again to deflect all the blame.
Last night was another proof as to why Cristiano Ronaldo, even at 37 years old, would be the best and most important player for his team. The Red Devils are winless in their last 6 games without Ronaldo and he remains the last of their problems right now.
Paul Pogba was Ragnick's choice to replace Ronaldo upfront, in an unorthodox 'false striker' role. The tactic backfired as Pogba hardly had any impact. The team has a player with experience of playing as a center-forward before in Marcus Rashford. So, it was surprising to see Ragnick choose this formation and personnel against a team who do leave spaces behind.
In a game where Jadon Sancho, Pogba, and Anthony Elanga were all sub-par, Ronaldo could've pulled off something concrete, as he often does when his teams needs.
#1 Anthony Elanga ruined what could've been the winning moment for Marcus Rashford and Manchester United
Marcus Rashford tackled by Anthony Elanga in the box https://t.co/TatVOsF6Dq
The sight of watching your own players fight for the ball against each other might be up there with the worst moments in football. Anthony Elanga and Marcus Rashford got into a similar situation in the dying seconds of the game.
After a prolonged build-up to in front of Leicester's defense, Rashford latched onto a deflected ball and carved the visitors open in the 95th minute of the game.
The Englishman dribbled past three players but before he could pull the trigger, Anthony Elanga interfered in his path. The latter attempted a shot, which ended up being a tackle on Rashford's trailing foot.
The 19-year-old was offside in the move and the lack of composure and awareness displayed meant Schmeichel could easily come and collect the ball. Meanwhile, Elanga and Rashford fell over.
Both these players are competing for a starting spot in the team, and this could've been the latter's ticket back into the good books of Rangnick. Unluckily for him, it was not meant to be.